Social and Cultural Development Department

The Department of Social and Cultural
Development is pleased to report on nine
different fields of activity this year.

Education
• Worked with the GN to establish a new
Education Act. The Department of
Social and Cultural Development and
the RIAs participated in the steering
committee to advise the GN on
Education Act issues to ensure that Inuit
language, culture, tradition and principles
are mandatory in the education
system.
• The department gained direct access to
Education Minister Ed Picco through
a seat on the Education Advisory
Committee. The committee provides
recommendations on broad education
issues from early childhood education
to post-secondary education.
• Involved in advising an expert panel
that is revamping NTEP to address the
lack of Inuktitut-speaking teachers
from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
• Involved in developing an implementation
plan for the Nunavut Adult
Learning Strategy.

Language
• Participated in the steering committee
with the GN to amend the Official
Languages Act and to put in place an
Inuit Language Protection Act.
• Continued to support GN’s efforts to
lobby the federal government to
recognize the linguistic realities of
Nunavut through a request for
increased Inuit languages program
funding under the Canada-Nunavut
Cooperation Agreement.

Health
• Continued to participate in the Inuit
Diabetes Network, Inuit Tobacco
Network, and continued to work on
the Healthy Living Strategy.
• The Health Integration Initiative was
completed in Nunavut. The project was
successful in identifying successful programs
and gaps that require attention.
An action plan was drafted for further
integration between federal and territorial
programs.
• Continued to participate on the
National Inuit Committee on Health,
and was involved in bilateral discussions
with Health Canada on Non-
Insured Health Benefits for Inuit in
Nunavut.

Disabilities — The
Nunavummi Disabilities
Makinnasuaqtiit Society
• NDMS became a registered society in
September.
• NDMS held their first AGM in Iqaluit
in 2005.
• NDMS has a representative sitting on
the Education Act steering committee.

Youth
• An NTI AGM resolution was passed to
establish a Nunavut-wide Inuit youth
council. The department took the lead
on this project.

Elders
• Participated in the New Horizons for
Seniors Program review panel for
Nunavut. The program provides fund
ing to communities or organizations
that submit proposals to run community-
based projects to reduce Elder isolation.
• Worked with the GN to establish an
inter-agency working group to tackle
the issue of Elder abuse in Nunavut.

Justice and Community
Wellness
• Addressed the lack of programs and
services for Inuit in federal penitentiaries.
• Worked on a draft cultural plan for
non-Inuit who adopt Inuit children.
GN wrote a letter of support for this
initiative. The plan is now being finalized.
• Participated in a Violence Against
Women Working Group to ensure
Inuit perspectives on community
crime prevention are implemented.
NTI gave a financial contribution to
the first Nunavut territorial symposium
on family violence.

Housing
• Worked with the Nunavut Housing
Corporation (NHC) and the Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation
(CMHC) to advance Nunavut's social
housing shortage.
• Met with federal officials and National
Aboriginal Housing Association
(NAHA) to advocate and lobby for more
federal dollars for Inuit housing in
Nunavut.
• Worked with ITK to identify housing
needs in Nunavut.
• Participated in the First Ministers
Meeting in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Annual Report on the State of
Inuit Culture and Society
• The reporting periods for fiscal years
2003/04 and 2004/05 were compiled into
one Annual Report on the State of Inuit
Culture and Society, which was published
during the fall of 2006.
• The report focused on Nunavut’s social
housing crisis. It outlined the relationship
between housing and all social
and cultural development issues, and
called for urgent action on the part of
the federal and territorial governments
to provide funding and services to
build more houses for Inuit in
Nunavut.
• The report will be tabled in the House
of Commons and the Nunavut
Legislative Assembly.
• Work began on the 2005/06 Annual
Report on the State of Inuit Culture and
Society. It will focus on education, language
and youth, and will heavily reference
Thomas Berger’s Final Report on
the Implementation of the Nunavut Land
Claims Agreement.
• The 2005/06 report is expected to be
ready for publication by the spring of
2007. This will coincide with the fall
sessions of the House of Commons
and the Nunavut Legislative Assembly.